If you ever get the chance to go to an Olympic Games event, then go. The blog spent last night at the athletics finals, and saw the most amazing performances it is possible to imagine.
These athletes are at their peak of their careers. They really have sacrificed everything for these few minutes of possible success. And at the end, for most of them, the difference between winning and losing is fractional. Each event is thus completely absorbing.
What to say, for example, about the Bahamas (pictured right). A country of 350k people, their men won their first-ever Olympic gold medal – in the 4 x 400m relay. They came from behind in the final leg to beat the USA (population 315m).
Or, what to say about the US women, beating the world record in the 4 x 100m relay? Even the Jamaicans could not get close to them. Yet the margin beween first and last was only 2.10 second.
Then there is the technical difficulty of the women’s hammer, where world and Olympic champions can still hurl their hammers into the netting.
Or the sheer impossibility of the men’s pole vault. The co-ordination required to vault 6m (20ft), the height of a London double-decker bus, needs to be seen to be believed.
And, of course, last night, there was also the beauty of the stadium itself (pictured above, during the women’s hammer medal ceremony). Plus the friendliness of the crowds and the officials. And the weather, which defied all those who say it always rains in the UK.
If you can get a ticket to the Rio Olympics in 2016, then go!